5 marathons in 5 days challenge for the Jack & Jill Children’s Foundation

Business owner on Belleek/Ballyshannon border takes on huge task

Reporter:

Michael Daly

6 Oct 2016

0

Terry Hughes, running a marathon a day for five days.

This October, Terry Hughes, proprietor of TJ Hughes Service Station on the Belleek Ballyshannon border, will take on the huge task of making his way from Ballyshannon to Dublin, running a marathon a day over a five day period, starting on Wednesday 26 October, concluding his challenge with the Dublin Marathon.

Terry is taking on this huge challenge in a bid to raise €10,000 for the Jack & Jill Children’s Foundation.

Terry’s route will take him to Florencecourt, then onto Cavan, Kells, Dunboyne finishing up in Dublin. Training everyday, both on the roads and in the gym, Terry is doing this to raise awareness and funds for the foundation: “The Jack & Jill Foundation is a charity which is special to me. I was lucky enough to learn more about it at a conference and it really struck a chord with me that there’s no state support available for children born with severe development issues - my own child has diabetes and in comparison we have all the support in the world - so I felt it was important to do my bit.”

“Running the five marathons in five days is also a huge physical challenge for me - I’ll certainly not have too many opportunities to do something like this in the future, but I’m delighted that I’ll have some local runners accompanying me on stretches along the route, and I’ll have a volunteers to cycle a rickshaw to carry all the essentials along the way.”

“I’ve already held a fundraising day for Jack & Jill - local people were really supportive and very generous. We’re also having a Charity Bingo afternoon in Star Bingo, Bundoran on Saturday 15 October at 4pm and an in store coffee morning on Saturday 22 October.

“I still have some way to go to hit the €10,000 target, so I urge everyone to dig deep and donate what they can to help me support this fantastic cause.”

The Jack & Jill Children’s Foundation provides much needed nursing care & direct funding to families of children from birth to four years old with severe neurological development issues throughout Ireland, enabling them to take a break from the daily marathon of caring their sick child.

The service which is nationwide, with no waiting list and operates 365 days a year, delivered by a network of over 1,000 nurses also includes end of life care.

Jonathan Irwin, CEO said “On behalf of the 300 children and their families under our wing, I want to wish Terry the very best of luck with this huge challenge. One marathon is enough for most people, but Terry is doing five, and I have to take my hat off to him for that! It is champions like Terry that keep Jack & Jill going every year, and the fact that we support children all along his route, including 6 in Donegal, 4 in Cavan, 10 in Meath and 69 in Dublin just shows the reach of Jack & Jill, having supported over 2,000 families since 1997, families in every community, families who will be reminded that they don’t walk their pathway alone, as people like Terry are willing to get out and run to support them. We hope the road stretches out ahead of him and there’s a gentle wind on his back and I would remind people that every €16 raised by Terry funds 1 hour of home nursing care for a sick child.”

If you would like to make a donation, please visit Terry’s Everyday Hero fundraising page at bit.ly/5Marathons5Days or you can make a donation in store. Follow Terry’s story on the T.J. Hughes Service Station Facebook page @TJHughesBelleek for more information!

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